Earning Trust
by ShadowBeats22107
Summary: The21stquinn's second request: The first time Clint has to comfort Natasha through her time of the month at the beginning of their partnership... Set in my 'In This Together' verse, two months or so after Sao Paulo but nine months before the first chapter of 'In This Together'. Humour and a little hint of Clintasha involved. A 'In Together' prequel.


**Fanfic:****Earning Trust, Avengers.  
****Author:****ShadowBeats22107.  
****Disclaimer:****I don't own Avengers. And apologies to anyone for any OCCs you may find in this.  
****Word Count: ****2,890.****  
Rated: ****T.****  
Summary: **_**The21stquinn**_**'s second request: The first time Clint has to comfort Natasha through her time of the month at the beginning of their partnership... Rated M for some content... Set in my '**_**In This Together/ One Step at a Time**_**' verse, two months or so after Sao Paulo but nine months before the first chapter of '**_**In This Together**_**'. Humour and a little hint of Clintasha involved. A '**_**In This Together**_**' prequel.**

_**18**__**th**__** November 1997...  
S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house,  
Cairo, Egypt...**_

"Romanoff," Clint called as he watched said red head curl up into herself as she lay on the bed in an attempt to stop the pain in her stomach, her arms wrapped around her stomach. "What's wrong?" he asked as he hesitantly walked over to her.

"Barton, shut up and leave me alone..." Natasha growled menacingly, lifting her head slightly to glare at her partner although regretting it when she noticed the concern in the archer's eyes. "I'm fine... You don't need to babysit me," she mumbled before burying her face into her pillow.

"I'm your partner not your babysitter Romanoff... I want to know if my partner is sick or not so I know what I can or cannot say or do," Clint stated as he kneeled down beside the bed, watching her carefully.

"Barton, this was your first mission after Sao Paulo... If anything, it should be me looking out for you," Natasha whispered, turning her head to look at the man who had lost 80% of his hearing and almost lost his ability to walk to keep her safe.

Clint smirked at the red head softly. "What's wrong Romanoff?" he whispered, climbing onto the other side of the bed so that she was looking at him. Natasha turned her head and buried her face into the pillow, mumbling something that Clint couldn't hear. "What? Romanoff, I can't hear you when you talk into your pillow," the archer stated, watching as his flamed haired partner tensed and groaned in obvious pain.

Natasha sighed and lifted her head to look at her partner. "I'm just going through something that every woman has to go through every month," the red head repeated, watching Clint's reaction carefully.

"What are you on a-...?" Clint started before cutting himself off and blushing deeply as he realised exactly what Natasha was on about. Natasha couldn't help but giggle (_actually giggle_) at the embarrassed look on the archer's face. "You can actually laugh...?" the archer teased as he tried to fight the blush on his face.

"Shud'up Clint," Natasha mumbled in reply, turning her face back into the pillow, trying to hide the blush on her face. She slowly relaxed before noting that Clint had frozen beside her. "What's wrong with you?" she whispered as she turned her head to look at him, finding him staring at her with a small smirk.

"You called me Clint..." Clint replied, smiling at her softly as he watched her think over what she had said to him.

"I did," Natasha responded before wincing as a cramp shot through her whole body. "You can call me Natasha," she added through her teeth which were gritted in pain.

"What can I do to help you Natasha?" Clint whispered as he leaned on his elbow and hesitantly placed his hand on her forehead, wiping her sweaty red locks out of her face. "_I can't help you unless you tell me what to do...?_" he whispered softly in Russian, smiling as the red head looked at him in surprise.

"_You want to help me...?_" Natasha replied in the same tongue, surprise clearly written all over her face.

"How many times do I have to tell you Natasha? I'm not just your partner and ex-supervising officer; I'm your friend as well..." Clint whispered as he cupped Natasha's cheek so she would look him in the eye. "First and foremost, I'm your friend... If you need anything, you just ask... Okay?" the archer whispered softly, smiling at his partner softly.

Natasha returned her partner's smile before biting her bottom lip nervously. "Thank you Clint... I know that you aren't like the men I've had to work with while I was at the Red Room... And I'm glad I can call you my friend," she whispered as she watched him smile at her in return. The red head slowly closed her eyes as she tried to control the pain in her body.

"Do you trust me?" Clint suddenly asked nervously, watching Natasha reopen her eyes in surprise. "Please, tell me if you trust me... Because I need you to know that I'll always have your back and I'll never leave you alone..." the archer whispered as he continued to brush the hair out of the red head's face.

"Yes... I trust you with my life Clint," Natasha replied softly, watching her partner smile at her in response. "You should know that I trust you... You didn't kill me in Budapest fifteen months ago... Three months ago, you risked your life to protect me... And as a result you almost lost your ability to walk and you've lost 80% of your hearing... And that's only some of the many reasons why I trust you Clint," she whispered, biting her lip as she remember trying to keep him awake as he bled out in her arms in the streets of Sao Paulo.

"Stop blaming yourself for Sao Paulo Natasha... It was my choice and I took the chance... And I would do the same thing over and over again to keep you safe," Clint confessed, edging closer to the ex-Russian. "I want to help you Nat... But you need to let me help you," he whispered softly.

"How am I not supposed to blame myself for that Clint? You've risked so much for me when you never needed to," Natasha snapped, glaring at her partner.

Clint paused before nodding at her. "Just know that I don't blame you Nat... You're my best and closest friend..." the archer whispered as he pressed his lips to Natasha's forehead before climbing out of the bed and heading towards the door. "If you need me, I'm out in the kitchen Nat," he added before leaving the room.

Natasha groaned and punched her pillow in frustration. '_Why did I snap at him? Clint didn't deserve that_,' the red head thought to herself, biting her bottom lip nervously as she thought back on everything the archer had done for her over the past fifteen months. The ex-Russian closed her eyes before sitting up with a groan. She needed Clint, regardless if she was willing to admit it or not.

Natasha stood up and slowly walked over to the door. When she heard no noise from the other side, the read head feared the worse and quickly opened the door only to find her partner making two cups of hot chocolate. "Clint?" the red head whispered, making the archer turn around to look at her.

"Hey, I was just making you some hot chocolate," Clint whispered softly as he watched the red head walk over to him. "What's wrong Nat?" he whispered as the red head hug herself nervously.

"I'm sorry Clint... I didn't mean to snap at you," the red head replied, making Clint smile at her softly.

"Nat, don't apologise..." Clint stated as he pulled her into a hug. "You're in pain... I don't blame you," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her protectively and pressing his lips to the crown of her head.

"You still didn't deserve it Clint... You're my best friend... And the only one I truly trust..." Natasha whispered against the archer's chest, tightening her arms around his waist, fearing that if she let him go he would leave her to be alone. Again.

"Nat, you should know that I will never leave you alone... I promised you when I met you in Budapest that I'd never leave you alone, and it would take me dying to leave you and I'll always do my best to make sure that I'll do to keep that promise," Clint whispered softly as he hugged Natasha closer to his chest.

Natasha nodded and closed her eyes, breathing in her partner's unique scent, the red head finding comfort in the archer's strong steel arms, knowing that she was safe there. "Come on... We don't want the hot chocolate to go cold on us," the archer whispered softly as he pulled away the slightest bit so he could grab the cups. "Bed," he added, refusing to let the red head take her cup.

Natasha pouted at her partner but did as he said, leading Clint back into the bedroom. The red head quickly climbed onto the bed, watching the archer balance the two ups as he climbed in on the other side. "Why do you always feel the need to take care of me?" the red head whispered as the archer handed her her cup of hot chocolate.

"I don't know... I just like taking care of you," Clint replied as he sipped his own cup of chocolate. He smiled as he watched the red head think about what he had just said. "Why do you ask?" he whispered as Natasha sipped her own cup.

"Even when I didn't trust you fully and didn't treat you well, you still looked out for me... Even when Agent Morse threatened to spread the rumour that you were cheating on her with me... And you've never asked for anything in return," Natasha replied, her brow furrowing in thought.

"Bobbi had cheated on me with three other men so anything she would've said about me would've been thought as an excuse for her behavior and a way of getting back at me for breaking it off with her," Clint whispered as he placed his now empty cup on his night stand before turning to face Natasha more fully. "And I don't know how many times I have to sty this Nat: you're my best and closest friend... You DO NOT owe me anything... I would do it over and over and over again for you... Okay?" he whispered as he watched her place her own cup on the locker on her side of the bed and turn onto her side so they were face to face.

"What did I do to deserve a friend like you Clint?" Natasha whispered before groaning in pain as a cramp coursed through her body.

"Nat... Let me help you..." Clint whispered softly, reaching out the red head. "What can I do to help you?" he whispered.

Natasha bit her bottom lip before whispering, "Heat helps stop the pain."

Clint nodded and rolled Natasha onto her back, much to the ex-Russian's surprise. "Relax... I'm not going to hurt you," the archer whispered as he placed his hands on her stomach and slowly began to massage the tense but tender skin there, grinning when Natasha moaned in response, the red head very sensitive to his archery roughened touch.

Natasha couldn't help herself but moan at Clint's actions as she felt herself get damp between the legs and she was positive that it wasn't from the natural reaction of a woman's time of the month.

Clint noted with amusement how sensitive Natasha was to his touch. And the way she was rubbing her thighs together to relieve herself of a certain type of tension that had nothing to to with her period but from his talent hands. And that led to the archer asking something that he was sure his ass was going to be used to wipe the floor with. "Natasha, when was the last time that you had sex?"

"The last time I had sex was just under two years ago," Natasha confessed when she finally recovered from her shock before she moaned as Clint massaged her stomach strategically. "How do you know how to do that?" the ex-Russian whispered, closing her eyes and sighing in content at her partner's actions.

"When I was in the circus, I learned how to take care of cramps in my arms by massaging them using heat..." Clint replied with a soft smile, watching his partner softly. "Do you want to talk about the Red Room?" he whispered when he noticed the thinking look in the ex-Russian's eyes.

"What is it like to be able to trust people... without knowing if they're going hurt you or not?" Natasha replied softly, making Clint pause in thought but continue to massage her stomach affectionately.

"Like me making the choice to spare your life fifteen months ago while you made the choice to take my offer and come back with me to S.H.I.E.L.D... You place a bit of hope in a person and you're willing to take that risk," the archer explained, making Natasha nod slowly as she thought it over.

"In the Red Room I was always thought that making bonds with someone would kill you... That trusting anyone but yourself would be your downfall," Natasha whispered as Clint massaged her stomach with perfect precision.

"I disagree with that idea... Building bonds gives you a better reason to fight... To keep living and do your best to return home safely... Trusting your feelings shows that you're beating the Red Room Nat... That they don't own you," Clint whispered, pressing a soothing kiss to her temple when he felt her tense from a cramp.

The ex-Russian nodded and leaned further into her partner's touch, trying to keep her hungrier thoughts in control. But that task was becoming more and more impossible by the way Clint was working her stomach.

"Clint, I want to try something..." Natasha whispered suddenly as she leaned up slightly, brushing her lips against the archer's. When Clint didn't respond, the red head thought that she had crossed a line and began to pull away, preparing herself for the rejection she was sure she was going to receive before she felt her partner's arms tighten around her waist, pulling her closer, his lips meeting hers with equal eagerness.

The two assassins slowly pulled away after what felt like forever, panting as they recovered from their make-out session.

"What brought that on?" Clint whispered, smiling at the red head softly.

"I've never voluntarily kissed someone... I trust you so I just..." Natasha confessed, making Clint pause as he stroked her face softly.

"Whatever you want Nat... All you have to do is ask..." Clint whispered, pecking her nose gently.

Natasha bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly. "Can I... Can we...?" she stuttered before Clint cut her off and claimed her lips softly, the two relaxing against each other, finding comfort in the other's touch.

Clint slowly pulled Natasha on top of him, the red head deepening their kiss as the archer wrapped his arms tighter around her waist.

Eventually, the pair pulled away, gasping for air while Natasha rested her head on Clint's chest, trying to regain her thoughts as they both regained their breaths.

Natasha slowly rolled off of her partner so she was lying facing away from him. Clint followed through with the red head's movements, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her back so that his torso was aligned with her back. "Goodnight Nat," the archer whispered, pressing his lips to the nape if her neck affectionately.

"Night Clint," Natasha replied, placing her arms on top of her partner's as she listened to his breathing leveling out, signalling him falling into a peaceful slumber. Natasha bit her lip as she felt her partner draw himself closer to her, practically spooning her as they lay in the bed. '_Am I in love with my best friend_?' the ex-Russian thought to herself before she finally let sleep take over her body, knowing that she was safe with Clint's arms wrapped around her waist, his hands on her stomach. But the spy didn't know that in a few months time she'd find that her feelings were mutual.

**Okay I know that I had said that I wouldn't update today but you know what, I thought this would be good enough to post so you need to tell me what you all thought?**

**And I wanna say a big shout out to my co-writter **_**Precious93 **_**for all her help on my stories :) So (even though she's on hiatus) go check out her work :) You won't be disappointed :)**


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